DALLAS — Cowboys fans, I hate to be a downer right out of the gate but adversity has always been baked into the NFL experience.
No team can avoid it, and the Cowboys received a double-shot when All-Pro cornerback Trevon Diggs tore his ACL Thursday at practice. Losing him for the season deals a big blow to a Cowboys defensive unit that, through two weeks, was performing as one of if not the best defenses in the NFL.
I spent the better part of Thursday evening talking several Cowboys friends off the ledge. The silver lining in this storm cloud is the Cowboys' defensive depth. Second-year cornerback DaRon Bland, who will move to the outside now, actually leads the NFL with six interceptions since he came into the league last season. Jourdan Lewis is an experience slot-corner, coming off injury himself, but he's healthy and ready to go.
Add in all the depth at the safety position and there are plenty of ways to make up for the loss.
There's no way the Cowboys defense will be as good as it was, but there is still every reason to believe it can still be excellent. The life-blood of Dan Quinn's squad is the defensive line that puts enormous pressure on opposing quarterbacks. No changes there.
So, Arizona Cardinals quarterback Josh Dobbs better be prepared to have Micah Parsons and company in his face all afternoon.
Last week, I reached out to Cowboys greats Drew Pearson, DeMarcus Ware, and George Teague to get their take on the defense. And this week, by total happenstance, I ran into another Cowboys Hall of Famer. The great Randy White and I just happened to be at the same store at the same time, and The Manster has a message for quarterback Dak Prescott.
White said he's a Prescott fan and wants to see the best for him. He implored me to tell him to do a couple of things:
First of all, he wants Prescott to ignore all the outside noise (meaning he shouldn't read any articles all season) and not worry about trying to be this team's hero. White said Prescott needs to forget about all the money that goes to quarterbacks around the league and just be himself because that's enough.
White wants Prescott to manage the game, make plays as they become available and that will translate into offensive success. So, just do exactly what Prescott did against the Jets.
And this is a great time to point out that the Cowboys are one of five NFL teams yet to commit a turnover this season. This is also the first time in 64 seasons of Cowboys football that the team has committed zero turnovers in the first two games.
A Quick Look at the Weekend Ahead
- Who: Dallas Cowboys at Arizona Cardinals
- When: 3:25 p.m. on Sunday, September 22, 2023
- Where: University of Phoenix Stadium (Glendale, Arizona)
- Weather: Sunny. Highs in the upper 90s, and lows in the low 70s.
- Watch: FOX (Joe Davis, Daryl Johnston)
- Listen: KRLD-FM 105.3 The Fan (Brad Sham, Babe Laufenberg, Kristi Scales)
- Last Meeting: Dallas 22 - Arizona 25 (January 2, 2022, in Arlington, Texas)
- Series Record: Dallas leads 56-34-1
X’s and Joe’s
The Cowboys won't be facing former Allen High school star Kyler Murray. He began the season on the physically unable to perform (PUP) list, meaning he's not eligible the first four games of this season. Murray suffered a torn ACL last December, but judging by this post from Wednesday on his TikTok account, he's itching to get back in the fold.
That means Josh Dobbs or another former North Texas high school star will be at the mercy of the Cowboys pressure-packed defense. Dobbs has averaged just 180 yards passing in his first two games this season. The Cardinals coughed up a 20-0 halftime lead against the Giants in their last game. Dobbs has yet to throw an interception, but he's lost two-of-three fumbles.
Should Dobbs struggles continue, might we see his backup? That would be former University of Houston quarterback Clayton Tune, who the Cardinals selected in the fifth round of the 2023 draft. Tune starred at Hebron High School.
Staying on the quarterback thread - Dak Prescott's real debut in the "Texas Coast" offense against the Jets was promising. I was struck at how many easy completions were available for Prescott. There were more than a dozen instances where he was able to hit wide open receivers in space.
And let's make a distinction here: Most of these short swing passes to the flat areas are not check downs. Mike McCarthy is bringing "west coast offense" principles to this new offense, and some of those flat routes are the first options on any given play. They want to get it to the receiver or running back quickly and the blocking is set up downfield.
Tony Pollard, Rico Dowdle, Deuce Vaughn, Kavontae Turpin, and CeeDee Lamb all got chances against the Jets to operate in space and pile up yards after the catch ... which is good to see.
McCarthy's play-calling and play design also allowed them to feature their best option - Lamb. Eleven catches for 143 yards was just the beginning for him. With fellow receiver Brandin Cooks expected to be back on the field Sunday, I'm intrigued and optimistic about where this offense can go.
Random Stat of the Week
What could a 3-0 start mean for the Cowboys?
Here's a look at teams that started 3-0 over the past five NFL seasons:
- Of the 24 teams to start 3-0, 20 (83.3%) would go on to reach the playoffs
- 41.7% of 3-0 teams make it to at least the conference championship game
- Six of the past 10 Super Bowl participants have started 3-0
Cowboys Fan Bandwagon Meter
Prediction time: Joestradamus speaks!
You know the old phrase: Trust your gut. Well, here I go.
On the 10 p.m. newscast on Wednesday night, Pete Delkus and I were having fun and Pete asked me on the spot for a prediction on the game. I don't usually make them that early in the week, but with next to no time to think, I came up with 27-13, Cowboys.
As I've gone through my week's research, I'd probably increase both team's scores and go with 31-16. But I'm going to resist that urge. Official Joestradamus prediction: 27-13 ... Cowboys beat the Cards by a couple of touchdowns and cover the 11.5 point spread.
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